Project Phoenix Chapter 16
Greige | Lamé
The Manifestation || The Power Play || The Green-Eyed Fly || The Middle of The Night || The Alternative || The Attic || The House || The God of Mischief || The Kill || The Night || The Collar || The Training || The Week Without A God of Mischief || The Routine || The Whole Truth
Greige | Lamé
Summary: Kate’s a normal teenage Midgardian girl; except there’s a Loki in her attic, and now S.H.I.E.L.D.’s after her, and also, she has powers. Apparently, she’s meant to save the world.
She just wanted to finish school and maybe fall in love—at least she’s accomplishing one of those.
Relationships: Gen, F/M (Loki/Original Female Character)
Rating: M (Graphic Depictions of Violence, Underage if you squint bit—nothing occurs while characters are underage, Sexual Content)
Mood: Hot Cargo, Illumina Anthology
When Kate awoke, the world was rumbling.
It took her a few moments to open her eyes, but once she did, there wasn’t all that much of a difference. Wherever she was was dark, and she felt the world lean to the right.
It took her a moment to recall what had happened before she’d gone to sleep. When she did remember, a sinking feeling hit her, and she could feel the color drain from her face.
She was almost willing to call out to Loki—or at least whisper to him because she wasn’t sure she had the strength to speak. He lied to me, not just a white lie, a big lie, she thought, and some resolve welled up within her. She would figure this out on her own. She didn’t need him to protect her.
It wasn’t too long before she succumbed to sleep again. Her muscles ached, and she felt too weak to even think.
When she next woke up, she was still in the dark space. It wasn’t moving now, and when Kate expanded her mind, she felt no beings inside what she identified as a van. She tried to lift her arm. She was strong enough now, but she found something cold restraining her.
She was far too weak to call upon her powers, and just expanding her mind had severely weakened her.
Something behind her opened, and light flooded the little room. She squinted in a desperate attempt to see out, her head awkwardly turning to see outside.
“Well, looks like someone’s awake.” A man climbed in, and the van swayed slightly. Another man joined him.
Kate groaned. “Where am I?”
The first man—or maybe it was the second—shushed her, almost sweetly. “We can worry about it later.”
A third entered. Kate heard him doing something, but she didn’t have the strength to turn her head.
The first man lightly caressed her cheek, clearing her hair out of the way. “Sleep.”
Kate felt a little prick in her neck, and she felt the heaviness in her eyes and her body. It wasn’t even a minute before she drifted off.
She felt sick to her stomach, a side-effect of withdrawal. Kate opened her eyes, but the light made her head hurt. Her only solution was to shut her eyes again, and she quickly drifted off.
Loki had been counting down the days until he could return to Midgard. He’d never felt the pressure of time—the impatience for such a short period to end—like he did now. If she was still angry, he could always quell her with seiðr, but he wanted her to trust him. Using his magic on her was the last way to do so.
He was sparing with a soldier when a servant walked up, bowing to him. “Your Highness, the Allfather requests your presence in the Great Hall immediately.”
“Has he said why?” he asked as if he didn’t already know.
“No, Your Highness.”
Loki nodded his head. “Very well.” He waved the boy off, leaving the training area to head for the Great Hall.
Of course, he’d never enjoyed working with the mortals—all the rules and regulations and will to keep every little thing alive—but it was an excuse to be on Midgard, so he sat through it with an unapologetically-sarcastic smile. He would slip away to see Kate whenever possible, though he could never stay long.
Loki arrived in the Great Hall shortly after, looking up at the Allfather expectantly. “You called for me, Father?”
At his side was Mother. She looked solemn but satisfied.
“Your mother and I have decided upon your punishment. You should thank her—my original ruling was much harsher.”
Loki bowed his head briefly. “Thank you, Mother.”
Odin seemed content with his use of manners. “You are to live on Midgard—”
His face screwed up. That part was new, probably a jab from Thor that the Allfather had taken seriously.
“—and work with S.H.I.E.L.D. compliantly for ten years.”
Mother cut in. “Five.”
“Eight.”
“Three.”
“Five.”
“Three.”
Odin sighed. “Three years. Until that time ends, you are exiled, and no longer considered a Prince of Asgard.” That part was new, as well. “If you are seen in the Land Eternal, you will be thrown in the dungeons and left there. Thor will be checking in on your progress, and if he tells me of any resistance or mischief, the title ‘Your Highness’ will never grace your ears again.” The last sentence held a little more venom than those previous.
What had Loki done that angered Thor so greatly? “When does this begin?”
“Tomorrow. Your Mother insisted upon allowing you goodbyes.”
He thanked his mother again. Although he would never admit it, sometimes he didn't know what he would do without her.
When Kate next awoke, she was able to open her eyes for more than a millisecond. The first thing she sensed was her wrists, manacled with golden manacles to long black chains, although she couldn’t tell how far they stretched.
The second thing she noticed was the same manacles on her ankles, her feet bare, as well as a giant collar around her neck. She could only assume it was gold as well.
The third thing she noticed was the little pill sitting on the table in front of her. There was a cup of water beside it. Kate blinked. Beside the cup and pill, there was a note.
She had enough strength to lift her hand and dragged the heavy chains with it. She picked up the note.
This will help. -Coulson
Kate rolled her eyes, quickly shutting them again and letting herself sag in defeat.
Kate opened her eyes again. Her stomach was tying knots of hunger so tight it hurt.
There was a man in front of her. It was one of the ones who had brought her here, wherever here was. He had the little pill in his palm, the cup of water in his other hand.
“Take it.”
She cleared her throat. “What is it?”
“Energy—currently, what you need.”
Kate lifted her hand. Her wrists felt cold, and her hands were half-numb.
She didn’t know much about probably-illegal imprisonment, but she did know she needed to humanize herself to hopefully create some sort of pity. “How long have you been watching me?” She took the pill and cup from his hands but decided she would not do anything with them until he answered her question.
He raised his eyebrow. “That’s classified.”
She fiddled with the capsule. “But I have to leave a footprint across the internet—it’s not like I search everything through an internet browser that constantly changes its i.p. address. And I know the microphone is always listening and the camera’s always watching. So, how long have you guys been watching?”
“Do you know who we are?” As he shifted, she glanced at the nametag on his uniform. Snyder.
“The government, one way or another. You’ve got an American accent, so I’d say the American government. Otherwise, they’d be sending in teams to rescue their poor little helpless citizen.” Sarcasm probably wasn’t going to help, Kate realized belatedly. Too late.
He didn’t respond.
“Did you know about Micheal?”
He hesitated but, in the end, answered her question. “Yes.”
She kept her tone as innocent and unemotional as possible. “Then why didn’t you stop him?”
The man thought for a moment. “There are things you don’t understand, kid, forces at play that we’ve gotta roll with.”
What a cruddy government official, Kate thought, and inwardly smiled. She did her best to ignore the hurt that twisted in her heart, the betrayal from a branch of government she didn’t even know actually existed up until just a month ago. “I’m not a child.”
There was a loud beep, and Snyder looked up. He began to walk around the table. “Take the pill; it’ll help.”
Kate blinked. She tried to turn her head to follow him, but the heavy metal collar prevented her from doing so. She blinked slowly, and put it in her mouth, swallowing it with a small sip.
The water cooled her entire throat, and her stomach thanked her for digestible content.
She only then realized just how badly she had to pee. Kate finished the water, her hand shaking from lack of strength, and took a few moments to actually look at her surroundings.
She ended up having to turn her entire body in order to see anything, and she saw the chains were fastened to something in the far corner of the room. It looked like they could retract.
There was a small cot, the table and chair, and in the corner directly left of the door was a toilet. The only thing keeping her from being completely exposed to the camera above the doorway was a divider, made of the same thing she saw in schools and public restrooms. Beside it was a sink, a mirror hanging above it.
Kate stood from the chair. Her legs shook, and she was only able to stumble forward a few steps before they gave out.
She realized then that she was in different clothes, a baggy jumpsuit she imagined inmates would wear, except her’s was a dull
instead of the classic bright orange.
On the left side of her chest was S.H.I.E.L.D.’s iconic emblem. So much for secrecy, she thought.
She pretended to look confused, but forgot about it soon enough and made her way over to the sink. She was barely able to pull herself up and leaned most of her weight on the porcelain for support. Along her nose, lips, chin, and smeared across her cheeks was dry blood. When she rubbed her nose, any evidence of a breach in the skin was gone—healed, she realized. Her hair was oily. So I’ve been here a few days.
The bar of soap was tempting—her entire body felt dirty—but she knew it could wait. Her bladder, on the other hand, probably couldn’t for much longer. She made her way over, having to rest on the cold seat for much longer than she would have liked before she pulled herself up and washed her hands and face. It took far more effort than she would have liked to simply stand up without help, but Kate managed and made her way over to the cot afterward.
She flopped down, her body aching all over, and promptly fell asleep.
When she awoke, much more alive and energized than she ever expected to feel again, there was another pill and cup of water waiting for her. When she stood, her muscles didn’t hurt.
It was slightly annoying to drag the chains across the freezing tile floor, but it was more of a nuisance than anything else.
There was another note. We’ll talk in a few days, don’t ask the guards questions. A pill every meal and a shower every day at noon. -Coulson
Kate took the new pill awaiting her. Coulson had been right; it did help her.
As if on some sort of cue, there was a beep, the same she had heard when the guy—her guard, apparently—had left, and two people walked inside her room. Both of them had been in the van with her, but the third man was nowhere to be seen. “We’re going to take you to the showers.”
One of them held a fancy set of chains made of gold, blue tech glowing in the subtle cracks. Asgardian, Kate realized. She recognized it from Loki’s memories.
The door shut behind the men and they removed her chains somehow, attaching the gold ones so her hands, feet, and collar were manacled together. She could not run.
They stood on either side of her, leading her out of the room once the door opened again.
She did her best to memorize the way they went. It was some sort of facility, from what she could see, with basic cinder block walls that left the entire place feeling cold.
“Where are we?” she asked.
Neither of the guards replied, and they turned left. A few people passing by—they all had the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem and nametags on their jumpsuits—gave them looks, but they went otherwise undisturbed.
After another left and a right, they reached a door labeled ‘showers.’
Then it’s noon, Kate thought. She obviously hadn’t seen the sun as of recent, and her body clock was beginning to get out-of-whack.
One of the guards—his name was Jones—stayed at the door and Snyder opened the door, gesturing for her to enter. She did so, and he followed behind her. He led her through the steamy room and to the corner stall, where he took her chains off and shut the door (thankfully an actual door, rather than a stall) behind her. She noticed there was no lock.
In front of her, there was a shower, with a curtain acting as a barricade between the changing room and actual shower area. She could hear other people showering not far away, but this particular stall did not appear to have been used as of recent.
On the bench lay a new set of clothes—underwear and deodorant included—and a towel and washcloth. On a small shelf in the shower was a bar of soap, razor, and little containers of shampoo and conditioner.
Kate did her best to ignore the little patch of some sort of bacteria growing in a crack in the grout. She set to undressing herself, although having to go around the shackles and collar was annoying, but she managed.
When she looked in the mirror, she saw the collar was, as she expected, gold as well. She inspected it, but couldn’t find any sort of welding point, let alone a way out. Kate sighed and inspected herself absent-mindedly. The note hadn’t alluded to her ever leaving the room, so she might as well spend as much time out of it as possible.
As if he could read her mind, Snyder spoke through the door. “By the way, you only get a half-hour in here.”
“What if I don’t get out?”
“Then I will forcefully take you out, dress you, and return you. I will knock you out if need be.”
Kate didn’t bother replying and stepped into the shower.
Her first thought was to simply cut herself with the razor and bleed to death. Let them think I’m settled, she thought, then strike when they don’t expect it. It was a good idea.
Loki probably wouldn’t expect it, either.
Kate caught herself and rolled her eyes. She decided to hold onto the feeling of twisted satisfaction she felt at the idea of him eventually realizing she wasn’t coming out; perhaps he would hear from Thor of a S.H.I.E.L.D. prisoner meant to be someone committing suicide and realize he would have to start all over again. The thought made her smile as she let the hot water run over her body.
She took the time to let the water run over her skin, scraping her nails up her arm to see how much grime had collected. There was enough to make the stuff beneath her nails appear discolored, so she set to washing her hair immdiately—she could think later.
Loki was told everything would be provided by Tony Stark himself, so he wasn’t allowed to bring anything with him. Of course, he still managed to smuggle a few items, the most important being the lock of hair he’d kept.
Strange, yes (Kate would most certainly think so), but she hadn’t mentioned it since he’d pulled it out of her trashcan, so Loki knew he was in the clear. He hadn’t taken the whole chunk, of course, just a small lock the width of her tiny pinky finger. He’d braided it to keep it from thinning. He would have to wait until she was enraptured by his very presence to even consider showing her the little oddities he’d kept over the different timelines, but he didn’t mind.
With the braid in a pocket he’d hidden with magic, Loki went to Midgard with Thor.
Heimdall’s aim was as precise as always, and they landed in an area that was very clearly designated, due to the number of mortals with weapons pointed directly at him.
“What a warm welcome,” Loki commented.
Thor was quick to reply. “It wasn’t as though the last time you were here things went so well.”
Coulson held up his hand, walking up to the gods in front of him as though they were common mortals like himself. Loki inwardly sneered. The audacity of mortal pride had always annoyed him, and the only exception was his mortal. “Your Highnesses.”
Thor laughed. “Your Highness,” he corrected. “My dear brother has been demoted.”
Loki desperately wanted to stab him.
Coulson raised his eyebrows slightly, but remained otherwise indifferent. “I’m certain you already know the terms of our agreement?”
His smile was paper-thin. “That I do. The Allfather made sure to be thorough, although I’m certain you will remind me of them anyway.”
Coulson smiled. “Of course.” He turned, beginning to walk forward.
Thor began to follow, and Loki rolled his eyes, begrudgingly following as well. Had Thor truly submitted to such a sublime race?
He could feel the weapons still trained on his back as he walked through a door. Coulson began to rattle on about his job as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.—what was expected of him and what he was to do on a daily basis. Loki preferred the freedom of godhood.
“—After the first few months, we’ll let you go on off-base missions. You’re going to have to go through a check with the council and Fury before any of that happens, though. Stark’s giving you a month to settle into your apartment. I think you’ll find that’s plenty of time.”
“Apartment?” He had expected a cot in a small room, rather than a full suite to himself. Perhaps the mortals did know who they were dealing with.
“You’ll have a kitchen and living space, as well as a bedroom and ensuite bath. Stark says it’ll be small compared to what you’re used to, but you’ll be able to sustain yourself fine.”
So, he was to be treated not as a prince, but rather a peasant. It had been too good to be true, of course, as most things in his life were. Loki knew it was best to grin and bear it. If he was complicit, he was more likely to be able to slip away unnoticed.
Thor clapped him on the shoulder. “Look on the bright side, brother, you have more to your name than I on this little planet.”
Loki sneered. They went into an elevator and Coulson continued his rambling. Loki drowned it out, staring at the buttons instead. Briefly, he wondered what they would do if he opted to press every single one of them.
That would most likely result in the title ‘Your Highness’ never gracing his ears again, so he refrained from acting on the impulse.
Impulse had always been more of Thor’s way of life, anyway.
The elevator stopped before their destination. A woman was waiting in front of the doors as they opened; she briefly halted in surprise, but ultimately entered the elevator with her eyes downcast.
“What floor?”
“Fifteenth, sir.”
Coulson nodded his head with a smile and Loki rolled his eyes. Thor smiled as well, and the woman did her best to make herself small in the corner behind him. Loki laughed to himself; at least she was afraid of him. Wise girl.
If he ever decided to wreak havoc upon this facility, he would perhaps not kill her, or mame her in the very least. Well, if he actually recognized her, that is; she was not particularly striking. In fact, she looked average in every way—not overly tall or short, thick or thin, pretty or hideous. The most striking thing about her was her hair color; he believed mortals would describe it as ‘irish red.’ Although, compared to Kate, her hair was still average.
Loki saw a blush cover her cheeks at his glances and he decided a bit of silent mischief couldn’t possibly get him in trouble. He sent a little spark of magic towards her, just a small image that was planted in her thoughts.
Her blushing only increased, and she shifted nervously. Loki smirked, making sure she saw it and knew what he had done. She looked too timid to report him to any sort of ‘higher-ups’—not that there was much to report, or that anyone would believe her.
She left quite quickly, and once they were alone again, Coulson continued his explanation. It was practically dull enough to make him fall asleep, and the halting of the elevator finally stopped it. “You get the penthouse all to yourself,” Coulson added finally, and showed them out.
There was a short hallway, then a door that had to be opened via keycard. Loki assumed he would not be given one of those. The suite was white—sterile—and the only decoration was a framed picture. After a bit of staring, he recognized it as the decimation of Manhattan. He smiled.
“Courtesy of Fury,” Coulson commented. “As a reminder of a time past, and a hopefully-better future.”
Loki rolled his eyes.
The mortal clapped his hands. “Well, that should be about it for the day. I’ll allow you to take a look around and figure everything out. If you need anything, just press the button beside the door.” With that, he and Thor left.
The cupboards were generously filled, surprisingly, (at least they knew how to feed a god), and there was a remote just begging to be explored. Loki picked it up and leaned back against the counter to examine it.
The buttons were set into little sections, small labels indicating what they would effect. There was a single button for the windows—the view was nice, although he liked the comfort of the dark and opted to dim them—but the other sections had multiple buttons. There was control for the living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, television, heating/AC, and general lighting. After walking through each room and seeing just what every button did, he was satisfied.
After a few hours of staring at the ceiling and thinking, the door opened. Snyder brought in her third pill, getting a cup from the little plastic dispenser she’d seen on portable water fountains which sat beside the sink and filling it with water.
He left the pill and cup on the main table. Kate’s stomach hurt. “Coulson mentioned meals in his note. Will I get meals?”
Snyder left without answering her and Kate pursed her lips.
She stood, looking at the pill. She didn’t feel a particularly strong need for energy, and her body clock—if it was actually working properly—told her it was around dinner time. Kate sighed and took the pill. She was going to throw it in the little trash chute she’d discovered behind the toilet, but hesitated. In case I ever want it, she decided, and pulled another cup out of the dispenser. She put it on the floor beneath the sink, dropping the pill inside and drinking the water.
Kate sighed and stared at the cup and her barren walls. In movies, prisoners always scratched tally marks along their walls to count the days, but she didn’t have a writing utensil, nor would these walls work.
She looked at the cup again and cocked her head when an idea popped into her head. She bit the plastic along the rim, weakening it with her canines before grabbing it with her molars and tearing.
The plastic came apart, and she kept tearing until she got a decent sized chunk off of the cup. She threw the rest down the trash chute and licked her lips. The least painful place to draw blood would probably be her mouth, but she didn’t think she could get enough blood to make a satisfactory tally mark. Kate dug her nail into her middle finger and watched the tip turn white as the blood rushed away from the pressure. A fingertip would be best, she decided, but she chose to use her pinky finger since it was the least useful.
She took a deep breath, digging into the pad of her finger. Tears welled in her eyes, but she managed to break the skin. Kate washed the blood from the plastic and left it beside the cup with the pill. She watched a bead of blood well in the little cut, half entranced, and walked up to the wall left of the door. She stood on her tiptoes and ran her pinky down half of the white tile. The scarlet was rather aesthetically pleasing, she noticed, and then washed the cut.
She flopped down on her bed and fidgeted with the heavy chains until she was some semblance of comfortable, then shut her eyes.
“This is your allowance.” Stark pulled up a small application on the datapad he had so graciously gifted Loki. “You’ll get one-hundred dollars weekly, and you can spend it on whatever the hell you want—drugs, girls, shoes, whatever—as long as it doesn’t endanger anyone.”
“What of food? Does that get taken out?”
“No. You buzz down and ask for food and someone will bring it up for you. Same with any necessities. Someone will be monitoring your spendings, and if you spend anything on necessities, it won’t be taken out.”
“What exactly are necessities?”
“Food, clothes, anything not taxed.”
Loki sighed. “Wonderful. Now, leave.”
Stark let out a little huff of laughter. “Yeah, that’s not going to work around here. You use your manners, and you still don’t have all that much power. Get used to it, Reindeer Games, because it’s not going away anytime soon.”
Loki rolled his eyes.
“By the way, I should tell you: if you try to smuggle anything, anything at all, past security, it will be confiscated, and you will have to return it personally with a nice little smile and an apology.”
“You assume I will be caught.”
Stark laughed. “Yeah, after outings you’re going to be strip searched.”
He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying Loki’s reaction, which was a mix of discomfort and offense. Loki grabbed the mortal by the neck, raising him up so they were eye-level. “If any of your lackeys lay a hand on me, you will find this entire building razed to the ground, your company with it.”
Stark quickly grew blue in the face. He looked like he was trying to say something, so Loki dropped him. After he spent a few moments gasping, he looked up. Loki smirked. Where you belong. He raised his eyebrows expectantly.
“That’s the one chance you’re going to get. You lay a hand on any of my lackeys and, as I believe Daddy put it, the title ‘Your Highness’ will never grace your ears again.”
Loki glared down at him. He hated that the mortal was right almost as much as he hated the mortal himself.
Stark stood. “I have more important things to do than exist in the same room as you, so have fun in your role as another one of my lackeys.”
Loki was fuming as Stark used his keycard to open the door. “Will I get one of those?”
“Once you learn how to behave, yes.” With that, he left.
So, he had until that night to ‘learn to behave’ and get back to Kate on time. Challenge accepted.
It took far more than one evening.
It was three weeks and a day before they gave him his own keycard. Up until that point, he spent most of his time in his chambers or with agents when he was permitted to leave ‘under the required amount of supervision,’ as Stark put it.
But, in the end, he had succeeded and now had slightly more freedom. As soon as he had the card, he took it and the debit card Stark gave him and left.
Loki hadn’t realized how much he missed fresh air until he breathed it again. Sadly, that wasn’t until he managed to slip away and use his seiðr to teleport to Kate’s general location. It was taxing and using the Bifröst was easier, but it was all that was available, so it would have to do.
Loki shapeshifted into a crow, finding her house and landing on the roof, where he shapeshifted into a fly. It wasn’t difficult for him to fly down the chimney and he got inside with relative ease.
There on the couch sat his little mortal, a cup of coffee balanced on her knee while she read a book.
He would have smiled, were he not an insect.
It was a Saturday, so she would be expecting him. Loki hesitantly cast out his mind. He met the dog first, who was closer to the hearth. The little beast felt abandoned, with an undertone of rage.
Loki had felt the thing’s thoughts before, and they’d never felt like this before. They were always happy-go-lucky and content. He hit Mars next, who was on the lower shelf of the coffee table. She looked to be lounging, but her entire being was on high-alert.
A sinking feeling hit him. When he met Kate’s mind, he was greeted by metal. Loki flew into the air. He was so quiet he disturbed neither the cat nor dog, but he was enough of a distraction that Kate looked up at him.
As her grey irises flickered across her eye, he saw the slight mechanical movement. It was so subtle no mortal would pick it up, but even with a fly’s kaleidoscopic vision, he saw it. He saw the little jitter as miniature gears shifted and how her reaction was slightly more delayed than it should have been.
He was too late.
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